'Mission Impossible' Takes No Prisoners In $18.2 Million China Opening Day

As predicted here back in early August, Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation got off to a record-breaking start in its Chinese debut with an $18.2 million (RMB 115.9 million) first-day tally on Tuesday, including $1.4 million from midnight screenings. Despite its poor release date, the film scored the highest opening day gross ever for a foreign 2D film in China, placing second only behind the $22.2 million (RMB138 million) July 17th debut of local 2D smash hit Pancake Man.

The Paramount/Skydance, Tom Cruise action tent-pole’s excellent start bodes well for its chances to become the second Hollywood film in a row to earn more in China than in its home territory of North America. Terminator Genisys—also, incidentally, a Paramount/Skydance production—accomplished this feat last week when its PRC cume surpassed its North American total of $89 million on the way to what will likely be a $115+ million final China haul.

This phenomenon of Hollywood tent-poles earning more in China than in North America started several years ago and has become a trend that has picked up momentum over the past 2 years, with Pacific Rim, Terminator 4, Furious 7 and other films enjoying outsized PRC paydays. As China continues its inexorable run toward eclipsing North America in the next 2-3 years, the trend will continue to a point in the not-too-distant future where China will be the number one box office territory for most U.S.-made films that release there.

For its part, Mission Impossible–Rogue Nation will enjoy the PRC’s biggest opening week since Monster Hunt, China’s highest grossing movie ever, rolled out to a $108 million 4-day debut week in mid-July. Despite opening on the Tuesday after students returned to school–one of the worst release dates imaginable–the American action picture played well for several reasons:

1. The Mission Impossible franchise is well-established in China. The previous installment in the series, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, earned the then enormous sum of $102.7 million when it released in China in early 2012. The Middle Kingdom's movie market is now 2-1/2 times larger than it was then.

2. Rogue Nation arrived at a time of heavy pent-up demand for Hollywood spectacle. The 2-m0nth government imposed blackout of major foreign films ended only two weeks ago, and movie audiences' hunger for such films was only partially sated by Terminator Genisys.

3. Tom Cruise and the MI5 team campaigned effectively across the country, making appearances in Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing. The result was extremely high awareness, intent to purchase, and word of mouth.

4. Alibaba Picture Group, a financial partner in the film, leveraged the exceptional online and offline resources of its parent company to market and advertise the film's release, to offer tickets online, and to sell related merchandise. This is the first such investment Alibaba has made in a foreign film (the terms have not been disclosed by the partners) and Tuesday's results will surely encourage the company to seek out similar opportunities.

Due to these advantages Mission Impossible managed to capture a 90 percent share of all PRC theatrical revenues on its opening day. Whether it can sustain this strength will depend at least partly on how it fares against upcoming competition. Universal's Minions will aim to grab a big slice of the Chinese box office pie when it releases on September 13th.

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